Ventilating apparatus



atented May 23, 1939 v uNiTED STATES PATENT orrlCE VENTILATING APPARATUSf It 'ltichard G. Birkholz, Milwaukee. Wis., assignor.

by mesne assignments. to Midwest Manufacturl f Application Api-us'.1931, serial N0.1s5,os7

a-.s claims. v A(ci. sas-11s) f The invention relates tofventilatingapparatus, The'front plate has a large central air opening and has' foran object to provide an improved I3 of generally circular shape, and theouter face l Ventilating device having a fan 'and having movof the frontplate has a pair of spaced forwardly able closure means whichis"a:tuatedto open projecting flanges I9 and 20 near its margin '5 positionwhenever the lfan is running.' forming a channel 2i between them ofgenerally 5 lAnotherr object of .theixfvention is to provide rectangularoutline to receive a packing strip 22. improved `closure of"fatii'ig:means for the ven- Caulking material 23 is inserted betweenthe tilating device. l y f 'outer flange I9 and the front edge portionsof the A further object is to provide a ventilating de- `casing to sealthe joint between them and also 10.vice in whichrthe fanisplaced'between two movto seal the joint between the casing and a sur-10 able closures to housethe fan, the closures being rounding trimmingframe 24 of the building. f yco'njointly operable to open position. Anouter door 25 has a marginal flange 26 A further object is' to providea/ Ventilating dewhich seats in the channel 2i against the packvicewhich can readily be assembled and ining strip 22. The door is providedwith lugs 21 l stalled, and which will vpermit easy access to the at itsupper edge swingably supported on hinge 15 operating parts. pins 28secured to forwardly projecting lugs 29 A further object ls to provideaventilatlng-deon the upper edge of the front plate i5.v A linvicewhichcan` bel economically manufactured ing sheet 30 of heat-insulatingmaterial is suitand which is efficient in operation. ably fastened tothe inner face of the door. The

2o vThe inventionfurther consists in the several door is operated ashereinafter described. 20 1 features hereinafter described and claimed'.The inner edge of the casing I0 is flush with In the accompanyingdrawing,`illustrating certhe surface of the plaster 3i at the innerbuilding tain embodiments of the invention,` f wall,V the casing beingpreferably arranged near y Fig; 1 is a'sectional elevationy of aVentilating the ceiling 32 of the room to be ventilated. A

device constructed in accordance with the invenrectangular door frame33, preferably of sheet 25 tion, as the device appears when installed ina metal, is marginally flanged to bear against the building wall, doorsof the device being shown plaster around the casing, and' has a flange34 closed in full lines,and open positions of the doors which projectsinto the casing and defines a doorbeing indicated by dotted lines; way35. The door frame 33 is secured in place y Fig. 2 is anl elevation ofthe device viewed from by screws 36 which are threaded into angle brack-30 the intake side, parts being removed and broken ets 31 attached tothe side walls of the casing by away and parts being shown in section;screws 38. A panelled door 39, preferably formed Fig. 3 is a sectional-View of the device taken of sheet metal, fits in the doorway 35 and hasclip f along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; angles 40 secured to its inner faceand near its 35 Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line upperedge. The door is swingably mounted on 35 4--4 of Fig. 2; hinge pins 4iwhich are secured to the flange Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken alongthe line 34 of the door frame and extend through the clip 5-5 of Fig. 2;angles 40.

Fig. 6 s a detail view of a door-operating mech- A pair of brackets 42are mounted on the inner ansm, a d sidesof the upper and lower walls ofthe casing, 40.

Fig. 7 sis a view of the device modified for use and have detachablysecured thereto by screws with an intake duct.l 43 the forked outer endsof a pair: of respective In the drawing. i0 designates a square casing.vertical motor-supporting arms u. The inner preferably formed 0fheavy-sage Sheet metal and ends of the arms are of semi-cylindrical,concave i5 of a size to t in a building wall between studs i i shape toi; about a fan motor 45; the arms being 45 of the wall, as indicated in1 and 2.r The clamped about the motor by screws 46. The Casing iS hereShown t0 b@ SllDpOfGd by and bemotor shaft extends horizontally andcarries a tween upper and lower headers i2 and i3 to fan 4l at its outerend disposed centrally in the which the upper and lower walls of thecasing circular opening i8 of the front plate i5. When are respectivelysecured by suitable means, such the doors 25 and 39 are open, 'ashereinafter de- 50 as nails i4. f scribed, the fan exhausts the air fromthe room A cast metal front plate i5 ts within the to the outsideatmosphere. front or outer end of thc casingand is provided A duplexwiring receptacle 48 is secured in the with corner lugs I6 and attachinglugs i1, the casing at one of the lower corner portions therelatterbeing riveted to the walls of the casing. of by screws 49. 'I'he fanmotor has a cord 50 55 l the receptacle.

"knockouts52 (one being shown in Fig. 1) to with a plugl for detachableconnection with The casing is provided with permit an armored cable 53to be attached thereto at either the bottom Wall or the side wallthereof for conducting current to the receptacle. The cable is also-connected to a suitable wall switch 54 for controlling the motor.

The outer door 25 is urged to closed position by a coiled spring 55which is anchored at its inner end on a bracket arm 56 secured to asidewall of the casing, the other end of the spring passing through anopening 51 in the front plate l5 rand being secured to a rod-likeconnector 58, Fig. 5, which slidably fits in an opening 59 formed in thedoor. Theouter end of the connector is pivotally secured to anv arm orblade 80 which normally extends transversely of the connector and bearson the outer face of the door, being prevented from rotation by a stop8I secured to the door. When access is'desired to the fan motor andother parts within the casing, the spring tension may be released byswinging'the arm 60 to horizontal position so that it may extend `into25 the opening 59. The inner door 39 ls urged to its closed position bygravity.

The outer and inner doors are urged to open position by a door-operatingmechanism now to be described. A housing 62 isse'curedby screws 30 63 tothe lower portion of' the side wall of the shaft 1I carries a pinion 12outside the housing meshing with a rack 13, the rack being held in meshwith the pinion by a headed screw 14 carrying a rack-engaging roller 15.The several lpinions and gears form a reversible speed-reducingtransmission. 'I'he rack passes through a notched partof the opening I8in the front plate I5, and one end of the rack is pivotally secured to abracket 18 detachably secured by a screw 11 to the outerdoor I5. Theother end of the rack carries a stop pin 18 to limit the outwardmovement of the rack and`door. A cord 519 is connected to the motor 84and carries a plug 80 which is detachably plugged into the receptan cie48. i v

A lever 8| is journalled on a bracket arm 82- secured to the side wallof the casing above the receptace 48. The short upper arm of the leveris connected to one end of a link 83, the link passing through anopening 84 in the front plate l5,

and the other end ofthe link being pivotally connected to a lug 85 onthe outer door 25. The long lower arm of the lever 8l carries a roller86 bearing on the inner face of the inner door 39. By this linkage theouter and inner'doorsl will be opened simultaneously. i

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig, 7, the inner doorAand door frame of the device are omitted, and the fan casing I0 ismounted between floorjoists 81 of a building and adjacent the outer Wallof the building. A duct 88 between the joists has an end fitting withinthe fan casing, th'e outer'- end of the duct having an intake register89 opening in the ceiling 90 of the room to be ventilated. Theconstruction of the device is otherwisel the same as that of Figs.- 1 to6.

. 15, whereupon the motor 64 stops. acter of the motor permits the motorto remain When the fan of the device of Figs. 1 to 6 is not operating,the doors 25 and 39 are both closed, the outer door being spring-urgedagainst its seat 22 of packing material to exclude the Weather, and toprevent the entrance of foreign matterl and insects. The insulation 30on the outer door minimizes heat transfer. The inner door also has aninsulating effect and minimizes any condensation within the casing.

When lthe .switch 54 is closed, the fan motor starts in operation andsimultaneously the dooroperating motor also starts in operation anddrives the rack 13 through the speed-reducing transmission. The rack 13is thereby impelled outwardly, opening the outer door 25 against theaction of its spring 55 and also opening the inner door 39 by thelinkage connecting the doors. The open positions of the doors areindicated in Fig. 4. The outward movement of the outer door` is limitedby the rack stop pin 18 engaging the roller The charsafely in stalledcondition for an indefinitely long period `and without excessive powerconsumption. The fan exhausts the vitiated or odorous air froml thekitchen or other room being ventilated, and the air c'urrent through thecasing prevents the entrance of insects and also cools the fan motor anddoor-operating motor. When the switch 54 is opened the fan motor shutsdown, andthe door-operating motor 64 is deenergized. The spring 55 thenreturns the outer door 25 to its closed position, and the inner door 39returns to its closed position by gravity. The reversible transmissionand motor E4 act to retard or brake the closing movement of the doors.In both opening and closing, the doors operate smoothly and slowly, andwithout jarring or jerking, so as to minimize wear and noise and toprevent crystallization and breakage of parts.

'Ihe operation of the apparatus of Fig. 7 is gen- 'erally the same asthat of Fig. 1. The inner door, however, is ordinarily omitted from aninstallation`of the type shown in Fig. '1. Y

In assembling the device, the door-operating lmotor and its housing andattached cord are handled as one sub-assembly, and the fan motor anditssupporting arms and cord are handled as another sub-assembly.l Aftermounting these sub-assemblies in the casing the cords are plugged intothe duplex receptacle 48. Either-of these sub-assemblies can readily beremoved for inspection, cleaning, or repairs. To remove the fansub-assembly it is only necessary to loosen or detach the screws 43and'pull out the plug 5| from' the receptacle. In cases where it isdesirable or necessary to effect inspection or serv-'- icing from theoutside, as in the installation illustrated in Fig. 7, it is preferableto release the spring tension at the connector 58, as hereinbeforedescribed, and to release the screw 11 so as topermit wide opening ofthe outer door 25. Both the fan and door-operating mechanism can beremoved from the outside.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Leters Patent is: l

f In a Ventilating device, the combination of a casing, a door for saidcasing, door-opening mechanism including an electric motor and aspeed-reducing transmission, a fan in said casing, an electric motor forsaid fan, means for conjointly controlling said electric motors, andyielding pressure means for closing said door when said first-namedelectric motor is deenergized, said transmission and first-named motorforming a retarder for limiting the rate of closing movement of saiddoor by said yielding pressure means.

2. Ina Ventilating device, the combination of a casing, a plate securedin an end of said casf ing and having an air opening, said plate havingan outwardly projecting flange adjacent its periphery to form a caulkingchannel with the edge of the casing, and said plate having a channel theouter wall of which is formed by said flange, packing material insaid-last named channel to form a closure seat around said opening, anda r movably mounted closure engageable with said seat.

3. In a Ventilating device, the combination oi a casing, closure meansfor said casing, a fan in said casing, mechanismfior4 operating 'saidclosure means including a rotary electric motor and aspeed-reducing,transmission, said motor moving said closure means toopen vposition and remaining in energized but stalled condition whilesaid closure means is in open position, and yielding pressure means forclosing said door when said motor is deenergized, said transmission andmotor forming a retarder for limiting the rate of closing movement ofsaid door by said yielding pressure means.

4. In a Ventilating device, the combination of a casing, a pivotallymounted door forysaid casing, said door having an aperture, a spring forurging said door to closed position, and a spring connector slidable insaid door aperture and longitudinally adjustable in said aperture fromthe exter spring ension from the exterior of said door.

5. In a Ventilating device, the combination of a casing, a pivotallymounted door for said casing, said door having an aperture, adoor-closing spring, a spring connector slidable in said aper ture andhaving a slidable inner section secured to said spring and a pivotallyjoined outer section adapted to extend transversely of said innersection to engage the outer face oi' said door for `resisting springtension, said outer section being alignable with said inner section andslidable in said aperture to release and reestablish the spring tensionfrom the exterior of said door.

RICHARD G. BIRKHOLZ.A

of the door to release and reestablish thel`

